first foray into investing

After to-ing and fro-ing with Phillip Securities (and the Singapore Exchange, to a lesser extent) for about one and a half months, I finally got my CDP and POEMS accounts successfully set up. And so, my Share Builders Plan, tagged to my POEMS account, finally made its first purchase of two blue chips on the 18th of last month.

Like most other newbie investors, I would check my portfolio religiously – every other day or so. And I would feel a frisson of pleasure when the prices had risen, which meant that I was sitting on a small (although unrealized) amount of profit.

Two Wednesdays ago (6 August), I signed into my account and saw, for the very first time ever, that the prices of both stocks had fallen. My portfolio was worth less than what I had originally invested in it! Although it was merely a slight paper loss, I still felt a twinge of panic, before recovering quickly.

Well, this is the nature of investing…… There may be price fluctuations in the short term, but hopefully, a stock’s value will go up and up and up in the long run. And I need to develop the right mindset to deal with these situations.